Tropical Breeze Casino operator is finding itself on the wrong side again. This time, the operator is yet to answer guilty or not guilty. Above all, this is after a 65-year-old woman moves to court. The woman is a survivor of the Florida Casino boat fire incident. The woman is suing the operator over the recent fire incident. During the fire incident, several patrons jump out of the boat to the water.
How Much Is The Woman Suing The Florida Casino Boat Operator?
The boat is carrying patrons from ashore to the sea. Shortly after leaving the land, it catches fire. To save lives, the wise thing is for the patrons to jump into the water. Debrah Jero, a 65-year-old is seeking damages for her injuries. To get the damages, she is filing a suit before Pasco Circuit Court. Through her legal representatives, Debrah argues that the operator is negligent. He is the reason why Island Lady catches fire. In the end, more than 50 patrons need to jump off to the water.
Suffering Several Serious Physical Injuries
It is during this incident that Jero suffers several serious physical injuries. She is now seeking $15, 000 in damages. But there are chances of this amount increasing during litigation. Island Lady, the boat which the casino uses to transport patrons sets off. The boat has 50 patrons. The aim is to transport them to the Florida casino that is floating on the waters. Sadly, the boat catches fire a few minutes after its evening departure. The best thing to do is to evacuate passengers. Above all, this is what the captain advises. All passengers then quickly jump off the vessel. But they have to swim in the evening cold water. Also, this is what they do for about 100 yards back to the shore. Close to a half of the passengers suffer injuries. They go to the nearby emergencies. It is during this period when a 42-year-old woman succumbs to her injuries. The woman is a widow and mother of 12-year-old twins. After the fire tragedy, several things are emerging. The operator claims that the vessel goes through inspection in March 2017. Others are saying there is nothing like this. They claim that the ship is faulty throughout. There are others who are even assuming that the captain is sick. They argue that he suffers substance abuse problems in the past. The captain goes to the hospital several times in the history. The recent case was in 2014.
Several local media houses to have the story. They say a lot about Captain Mike Batten. They say that there is misdemeanor marijuana conviction. He also has a record of DUI, three citations where he is driving without a license. Other issues include the arrest for contempt of court. Above all, this is following his failure to pay for child support. The captain is also in a record for concealing illegal weapons. There seems to be a lot of both the operator and the captain. But Jero tends to favor the boat’s captain. All these are emerging after the Florida casino boat fire.
